St Athan
Encyclopedia
St Athan is a village
and community
in the Vale of Glamorgan
in South Wales
.
name is a corruption of the Welsh
female Saint
Tathan, described by Iolo Morgannwg as the daughter of the King of Gwent. The village and parish church
is dedicated to St Tathan. There are two pubs in the village, the King's Cup and the Four Bells. There is also a skate park and two community centres, one of which holds a fun-day on a yearly basis. The village has a football
team.
unit, formerly RAF St Athan but now known as MOD St Athan, is located adjacent to the village. This unit is home to the Special Forces Support Group
, the DSG
large aircraft maintenance unit and an element of the Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering
. A large joint-service military academy
is planned for construction beginning in 2009.
On 11 February 2009, two Air Experience Flights by the Air Training Corps
departed RAF St Athan and collided in mid-air, killing two female Cadets. The pilots were also killed. Investigations are now underway,
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
in the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
History and amenities
The EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name is a corruption of the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
female Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Tathan, described by Iolo Morgannwg as the daughter of the King of Gwent. The village and parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
is dedicated to St Tathan. There are two pubs in the village, the King's Cup and the Four Bells. There is also a skate park and two community centres, one of which holds a fun-day on a yearly basis. The village has a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team.
RAF St Athan
A large MODMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
unit, formerly RAF St Athan but now known as MOD St Athan, is located adjacent to the village. This unit is home to the Special Forces Support Group
Special Forces Support Group
The Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
, the DSG
Defence Support Group
The Defence Support Group is an executive agency and wholly owned trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. It was established on 1 April 2008 by the merger of Defence Aviation Repair Agency and the Army Base Repair Organisation. It was created under The Defence Support Group Trading Fund Order...
large aircraft maintenance unit and an element of the Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering
Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering
The Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering was formed on 1 April 2004 as one of five Defence Training Establishments introduced to deliver coherent and cost effective training across the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence...
. A large joint-service military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
is planned for construction beginning in 2009.
On 11 February 2009, two Air Experience Flights by the Air Training Corps
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
departed RAF St Athan and collided in mid-air, killing two female Cadets. The pilots were also killed. Investigations are now underway,